1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally involves the field of technology pertaining to devices for splicing lengths of film or tape together. More specificially, the invention relates to an improved tape splicing block that is particularly useful for splicing thin magnetic tape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for cutting and splicing film and tape are well known in the art. Such a device may take the form of a tape splicing block having a ged or trough on which the tape is supported for cutting and splicing. The tape is secured against the bed by means of clamps or holding fingers so that a splicing tab may be applied to form the spliced joint.
The splicing of very thin magnetic tape, such as tape utilized for video and digital recordings, presents certain problems. A known splicing block for this type of tape is provided with a curved bed or trough. However, this configuration tends to impart a corresponding curvature to the tape at the point of the splice due to the "fixing" of the tape to the bed during application of the splicing tab. This results in a memorized curvature of the spliced tape which can cause read-write errors, particularly during scanning by a rotating head, and also when the tape is very thin and transported under light tension. The use of a splicing block having a flat bed can avoid this curvature problem, but conventional clamps or holding fingers for securing the tape to the block are inadequate since they must be set back from the cutting and splicing area to provide access thereto. Moreover, such clamping means are unable to prevent thin tape from moving due to static attraction of the tape to other objects, including the splicing tab being applied to form the spliced joint.